Talia
Talia is a vast forest continent in the north west region of the main sea. It's the homeland of the satyrs, people of the land who've endured since the second mortal age. Talia was originally inhabited by the dwarfs back before the great wars when it was apart of Zether. Connected via bridge in the south east is it's sister continent, Mountain Pass. History The Second Mortal Age: The First Era: Geography Talia is a forest continent and it contains five forests within its borders. This continent is mostly somewhat flat with a few hills and mountains scattered within its borders. Flora and Fauna Flora: There is a vast amount of both plants and trees across Talia. From red mushrooms to the not so common dragon's thorn, one can find many different kinds of plants nearly anywhere your travels take you. As for trees it's hard to walk outside of a city or village without seeing one, be it an oak tree or an iron bark. Fauna: A fair amount of Talia's animals have been domesticated. These include but are not limited to hounds, cats, chickens, yackcows, goats, and black ravens. One might notice that horses are not natural to Talia as they were imported from Gyromere shortly after its discovery in the first era. Talia is also home to a variety of wyrms as well as harpies since some mountains are high enough for their liking. Holds Grimbor Hold: North Watch: Sorgail Hold: Temple Grounds: The Emerald Hold: West Reach: Territories: Government Talia is ruled over by a handful of individual Lords or Ladies, one for each hold. These rulers ultimately decide what happens, what work orders get signed, and what laws go into effect. In most holds the word of a Lord or Lady is seen as law. He or she will settle any legal, civil, and domestic disputes within the community. Each Lord or Lady rules over their own hold and it is seen as their property as long as they maintain their royal title. Any mines, mountains, bodies of water, hills, and even ruins within their borders are the property of the Lord or Lady. Though these rulers may not always agree with one another, they tend to work together when it matters most. Talian Laws: * The ruler of a hold may worship a deity, but they may not punish another person for not worshiping the same deity. * The ruler of a hold may not be a deity of any kind. * Temples are seen as holy places, and no citizen may do any of the following: Disrobe in front of the shrines, engage in an act of lust/love, murder another citizen, destroy or deface temple property, steal temple donations, or kill a priest/priestess. * A Lord or Lady may be ejected from their throne if a majority of their citizens see them as unfit to rule. * No citizen may take a neighbor (neighbor being someone who lives in the same city.) as a slave. * Forests shall not be seen as the property of any ruler. They're to be seen as the property of nature itself. * No ruler may take any of their citizens as slaves, unless it would allow them to pay off a debt they owe. * Nymphs may only be killed if they attack first. * Provoking a nymph will result in a fine of thirty copper coins. * Wars between holds must be settled between two warriors. Any actual wars will result in the rulers who take part in the war being banished from Talia. I) Defending one's walls or borders does not count as taking part in a war. II) Defending one's person does not count as taking part in a war. Hold Laws: Grimbor Hold: * Gnolls are to be seen as citizens of Talia and therefore any racist gestures, acts, etc. are punishable via a fine of a gold coin. North Watch: * Cheese theft is to be seen as a very serious crime, a crime punishable by two years in captivity or the cheese's weight in copper. Sorgail Hold: * No ruler may claim the hold's throne unless they're a member of the Sorgail family. * No citizen may challenge the Lord/Lady's decisions. Temple Grounds: * Leading gargoyles into the city will result in a fine of fifty copper coins or a year in captivity. The Emerald Hold: * Passing excrement and piss off as food and drink is punishable by a month in captivity or two hundred copper coins. West Reach: * No ruler may claim the hold's throne unless they're a member of the Nakis family. Military Other than The Templar Order, each hold has its own guards and armies. Guards in each hold protect citizens from internal threats such as thieves, murderers, and other kinds of criminals. Hold guards also have responsibilities such as maintaining the barracks or towers where they and their higher ups live, fetching water for elderly citizens who cannot do so themselves, and keeping the peace in the market places. Members of a talian army are seen as higher ups among the guards and are charged with protecting the hold from outside threats. These threats include foreign invaders, rival holds, monsters outside the city, garrisoning fortresses along with an appointed commander. In times of war members of a talian army are also charged with patrolling the city walls. Once a month they also have to patrol their hold's border. Economy Talia is wealthy and powerful land. Emeralds are in abundance on this continent and because of this not only has their capital been named after them, but the rulers of talia have a bit of a monopoly on them within The Templar Order. Each city provides goods and services to their own hold, but Lords and Ladies have been known to trade with other holds in times of need. Farmers tend to the land to grow crops. They tend to animals to provide meat, pelts, and even milk. These goods are then sold by the head farmer of each farm in a marketplace with ten percent of the profit going to the ruler as a farmer's tax. People of magic provide healing, teachings, enchanted objects, as well as many other things within shops. There is no tax on magic itself since in talia it is seen as illegal to tax something that isn't physical. Enchanted objects however, are taxed by four percent. Craftspeople provide a multitude of services and goods to the people of each hold. They make the armor, weapons, doors, houses, tools, etc. Being a crafts person is one of the most taxed careers one can have since twenty-five percent of the profit goes to the local ruler of the hold. Alchemists create a variety of potions and elixirs and are contently inventing new things to help the public. These lesser people of magic are taxed by five percent. Fishermen go out to the nearby river, lake, pond, or out to sea and catch fish. Be it with a single pole or a massive net they risk their lives in the wild to provide for themselves and their families. There is a ten percent fisherman's tax which goes directly to the Lord or Lady's treasure room. Religion Talian religion varies from person to person. Some people may choose to only worship a single deity while others choose to worship a few. The main religion of this land the worship of Gaia. Worshiping said goddess has been a thing since the first satyrs and fauns were sent to Talia. Some of the oldest families in Talia will only worship this goddess because of tradition and internal politics of their own family. Throughout Talia it is perfectly legal to worship any deity of your choosing, be they a Devil, God, Titan, or Demi-God. Culture Music: Talian music is easy to dance to and is usually played in pubs where people are drinking. Traditional instruments consists of bagpipes, citterns, varying types of whistles, accordions, clarsachs, fiddles, and bodhrans. There aren't many singers in Talia since most people like dancing to instruments rather than the voice of another person. Though from time to time the folk of Talia will praise those who choose to sing instead of play an instrument. Tradition: Tradition is something that many people in Talia make an attempt to change to no avail. It's common knowledge that the son of a hunter will no doubt become a hunter himself. The daughter of an ale maker will become an ale maker and so on. Tradition also leads to ignorance when it comes to new technology and magical arts. While most satyrs embrace magic and new things they might not like it when a single man can clear a section of a forest using magic since it means less work to be done and less coin to be made. The final part of talian tradition is family tradition. Cooking a chicken every new-winter or killing a black raven before the end of each hunt. These traditions are what make up the society of Talia and doing away with it would leave most wondering what was wrong with having chicken on new-winter. Folklore: Talian folklore is a curious thing if nothing else. Each story has a lesson or reason. Some stories will try to keep children from going out at night while others will stop a warrior from stealing from a poor person's home. A few stories tell of how the stars themselves were created, but these are sadly forgotten since they were debunked after the discovery of Liinora. The most famous tale from talian folklore is that of the wendigo. This story led to Mar himself creating the wendigo. Cities * Alatavi * Stone Valley * Temple City * The Emerald City (Capital) * The Vale * Umorza City Forests * Midday Wilds * The Suuni Grove * The Forest of Gaia * Falthreach Forest * The Jalvunya Grove Fortresses * Fort Kire * Fort Lavard * Fort Maga * Fort Malora * Fort Nargus * Fort Noca * Fort Norisal * Fort Nuvis * Fort Shallah * Fort Sibura * Fort Vilkor * Fort Vluudmire * Fort ZalNar Bodies Of Water * Falthreach Pond * Gaia's Pond * Kalig Lake * Sunni Pond * The Falthreach River * The Jalgin River * The Jalvunya River * The Undle Lake Landmarks * Beast Mountain * Gaia's Statue * Garnuya Tribe Statue * Grimbor Mountain * The Iron Mountain * The Togalt Mountains * The Underforge * Wyrm's Peak Category:Malaborn The Main Sea Category:Malaborn Forest Landmasses